Coal State Goes Solar

Berkeley Energy Group and a French energy company plan to erect a $100 million solar energy farm smack in the middle of Kentucky’s ailing coal belt.

The project would generate 100 megawatts and create 100 jobs, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

The paper reported: “The project would ‘put miners back to work and diversify our holdings and diversify the region,’ said Ryan Johns, project development executive at Berkeley Energy. ‘It’s kind of a new frontier for our area.’”

The collapse of the coal sector as cheap natural gas proliferates along with renewable energy has led to the loss of 10,000 jobs in Kentucky’s coal region.

Also a part of the solar project is EDF Energies Nouvelles of France..